sbdcsierra Chapter 15 The tension she'd held in her heart for six years began to ease little by little.
Chapter 15 The tension she'd held in her heart for six years began to ease little by little.
Having received her mother's approval, Niannian tiptoed and gripped the doorknob, while Guigui also came over, her little body tense, like a little guardian angel.
The door opened.
Shen Yu stood at the door, dressed in a dark gray casual outfit. He had shed his usual coldness and his eyes were filled with a gentle smile.
He was carrying two large bags, both of which were gifts he had specially prepared for the children.
Good morning, Niannian and Guigui.
Jiang Xinlan walked over and stepped aside to let him in.
"Come in, change your shoes over here."
She had placed the new men's slippers next to the shoe cabinet beforehand. When Shen Yu changed his shoes, the two children stood about half a step away, looking up at him with their little faces, glancing back at their mother from time to time. Their little bodies were still a bit restrained, and they did not rush over rashly.
Jiang Xinlan leaned against the entryway cabinet, met the children's gazes, and smiled, raising her chin slightly.
"Dad brought you some gifts, don't you want to see if you like them?"
With their mother's words, the two children instantly let down their guard.
Niannian first reached out her little hand, gently took the pink bag on top, and carefully opened it.
Inside were the DIY cream-filled pencil case set that Shen Yu had asked the sales assistant for, and a soft rubber princess bow and arrow toy set that he had bought.
At the very bottom is a jade pendant for peace, which Shen Yu personally crafted using cool jade from the cultivation world. It is cool to the touch, and when worn around the neck in the summer, it can not only calm the mind and keep you awake, but also keep you away from mosquito bites.
He didn't mention anything special about it, treating it as just an ordinary little piece of jewelry.
"Wow! This cream-filled set! Dodo has one, I've been envious for so long!"
Niannian's eyes instantly lit up like little stars. She picked up the jade pendant again, touching its cool, smooth texture, and loved it even more. She looked up at Shen Yu and called out softly,
"Thank you, Dad! This jade pendant is so beautiful!"
Seeing her surprised expression, Shen Yu spoke gently:
"If you like it, then Daddy will put it on you, okay?"
Niannian nodded vigorously, obediently turned around, and let Shen Yu put the jade pendant on her.
On the other side, Gui Gui couldn't help but reach out and take her bag. When she opened it, her eyes widened instantly.
Inside are the latest mechanical dinosaur building blocks, a set of alloy pullback racing cars with a track, and at the very bottom, a palm-sized wooden Luban lock mechanism box.
This puzzle box was made by Shen Yu using thousand-year-old lightning-struck wood from the cultivation world, and it is inlaid with a small luminous pearl. The mechanism is a simplified version modified by him.
Only a child's little hands can press the correct slots to open it. It can not only exercise their hands-on ability, but also be novel enough. When placed by the bedside at night, the luminous pearl can also emit a soft light, so children are not afraid of the dark.
Gui Gui picked up the Luban lock and examined it from all angles, his little face full of surprise. He tried to pry it open but couldn't, and his little brows furrowed in frustration.
Seeing this, Shen Yu didn't immediately open the bottle for him. Instead, he squatted down, leaned close to him, and whispered:
"Gui Gui, try pushing the third small wooden block on the left inwards, and then turn the topmost latch."
Gui Gui did as instructed with some skepticism. With a click, the mechanism box opened, and the luminous pearl inside emitted a soft, warm white light that made the little boy's eyes light up.
"It's open! It's really open!"
Gui Gui excitedly held up the box, looking at Shen Yu with eyes full of admiration. "Dad, you're amazing! This box is so cool!"
That adoring "Dad" completely broke down the little boy's defenses.
He moved closer to Shen Yu, took out his dinosaur models one by one, and chattered excitedly to his father about which was a Tyrannosaurus Rex and which was a Pteranodon, no longer showing the restraint he had at the beginning.
Niannian, who was standing next to her, also came over, holding up her own cream-colored plastic accessories, and showing her dad the little accessories she had chosen.
Shen Yu patiently stayed with the two children, occasionally using a wisp of barely perceptible spiritual power to perform a little trick for them.
Let the small accessories made of creamy glue float up gently, let the wooden blocks of the Luban lock return to their positions by themselves, and let the race car run on the carpet by itself.
The children watched intently, laughing and shouting "Daddy's so amazing!" repeatedly.
Jiang Xinlan sat on the sofa, holding a water glass in her hand, watching the two children surrounding Shen Yu, laughing carefree.
The light in her eyes was a rare sight in the past six years, a light that belonged to a child's unbridled joy.
The tension that had been building in her heart for six years gradually eased, and her initial anxiety and unease were slowly replaced by warmth and relief.
After playing for a while, the two children were attracted by the laughter and noise of the children playing on the slide downstairs, and they clamored to go down to the park to play.
Shen Yu, holding one in each hand, turned to look at Jiang Xinlan.
"Xinlan, let's go for a walk together and soak up some sun."
Jiang Xinlan looked at the children's expectant eyes, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded in agreement.
The family of four walked towards the community park. They encountered familiar neighbors along the way, who greeted them with smiles and whispered among themselves as they watched Shen Yu holding one child in each hand.
"So this is the father of two children. He looks like he loves his kids."
But as soon as she reached the park entrance, the smile on Jiang Xinlan's face faded.
Sitting on the bench was Li Juan, the notoriously difficult neighbor in the community, and her chubby-faced son Zhuangzhuang.
Li Juan's husband runs a supermarket at the entrance of the residential area. He had harassed Jiang Xinlan multiple times under the pretext of delivering things, and sent her lewd messages on WeChat.
Jiang Xinlan blocked her several times, and she avoided her every time.
But Li Juan not only ignored her husband, she blamed everything on Jiang Xinlan, thinking that Jiang Xinlan was a vixen who deliberately seduced her husband.
She usually spreads rumors in the neighborhood's parenting groups and residents' groups, saying that Jiang Xinlan, a single mother, has a chaotic private life.
She also allowed her son Zhuangzhuang to snatch toys from Niannian and Guigui, and last time she even pushed Niannian to the ground, causing her to scrape her knee.
Jiang Xinlan didn't want to cause trouble, so she always took the child and avoided the area, but Li Juan became increasingly demanding.
Sure enough, the moment Li Juan saw Jiang Xinlan and Shen Yu holding the child beside her, her eyes lit up instantly, and her sarcastic voice immediately drifted over:
"Oh, isn't this Miss Jiang? Finally found someone new? Well, with two kids to support, how will you manage if you don't find a man to rely on?"
As soon as he said that, all the parents with their children in the park looked over, their eyes full of curiosity.
Jiang Xinlan's face instantly turned cold. She shielded the two children behind her and looked coldly at Li Juan:
"Li Juan, watch your mouth."
"What? Did I say something wrong?"
Li Juan stood up from the bench, put her hands on her hips, and walked over, looking Shen Yu up and down. Her words became increasingly harsh.
"A single mother with two fatherless children, changing men faster than flipping through a book, doesn't she even know her own worth? How dare she wander around the neighborhood?"
Her words not only insulted Jiang Xinlan, but also included the two children in her insults.
Niannian shrank back into Jiang Xinlan's arms in fright, and Guigui clenched her little fists, her face full of anger.
Jiang Xinlan trembled with anger and was about to retort when a broad back appeared in front of her.
Shen Yu shielded her and the two children tightly behind him, his face darkening as he swept his cold gaze over them.
With just one glance, Li Juan felt a bone-chilling cold rush from the soles of her feet to the top of her head, as if all the blood in her body had frozen. The swear words that were about to come out of her mouth got stuck in her throat, and she couldn't utter a single word.